The top half of the Essex lineup proved to be dangerous throughout the game. The top five hitters in the order - Ryder Thornton, Grady Cram, Ryan Young, Giannelli and George Goldsworthy - combined for seven hits, four walks, two RBI and three runs scored.

Southington is now faced with a win-or-go-home situation for the rest of the tournament. Its first test will be Thursday at 9:30 a.m., when Southington will take on Connecticut runner-up Ellington.

Southington is coming off of a two-game sweep of Ellington in the state final last weekend.

“Ellington gave us trouble in the [state] final. So it’s a ‘be careful what you wish for’ thing. At the end of the day, these are all championship teams. We have just have to handle our own business.”

Nick Borkowski will get the start on the mound for Southington.

Verderame said there are plenty of offensive adjustments his team needs to make to back up his pitching staff.

“I just think we need to be more aggressive,” Verderame said. “We preach aggression. We steal a lot. We take a lot of cuts. We didn’t really do that [Wednesday]. I’m looking for some aggression. We aren’t going to go quietly into the night.”

The team will have to win four straight games in order to capture the regional championship and move on to the American Legion World Series, which begins Aug. 16 in Shelby, N.C. But in Verderame’s eyes, if there is any team that can get the job done, it’s his squad.

“I think we belong here,” Verderame said.

“Now, we’re in a do-or-die [situation], which I think sometimes can push a team forward. The guys know if we lose tomorrow, we’re going home for good. And if anyone is going to go through the loser’s bracket, we have the rotation to sustain that gauntlet. Going [through] a tournament like this, in five days, is something we were made for.”